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Michael Smith was beaten 10-4 by Peter Wright in Saturday’s second round in Dortmund, while Michael van Gerwen claimed a 10-7 victory against Ricardo Pietreczko; next up on the Sky Sports Darts calendar is the Grand Slam of Darts from November 11-19 at the Aldersley Leisure Village
Last Updated: 28/10/23 10:50pm
Michael van Gerwen won 10-7 to book his place in the quarter-final
Peter Wright dumped reigning world champion Michael Smith out of the European Championship, while Michael van Gerwen made it through to the quarter-finals in Dortmund.
Four-time European champion Van Gerwen averaged 104 to defeat a spirited Ricardo Pietreczko, with a blistering mid-game burst catapulting the Dutchman to an impressive 10-7 victory.
Pietreczko stunned Van Gerwen on his way to lifting the German Darts Championship title earlier this month and he made a dream start to this contest after raising the roof with a magnificent 167 finish in the opening leg. The 29-year-old led 3-2 at the first interval, but Van Gerwen responded with a brutal five-leg barrage to seize the initiative.
Pietreczko, roared on by a sell-out crowd at the Westfalenhalle, reduced the deficit to 6-7 at one stage, only for Van Gerwen to follow up a 145 checkout in leg 14 with a clinical 110 kill to seal the deal.
Van Gerwen is chasing a fifth European Darts Championship title
“It wasn’t easy,” admitted Van Gerwen, who hit eight 180s and converted three ton-plus checkouts to continue his bid for a first European Championship success since 2017. “After the first break I came back like a new Michael van Gerwen. I had a couple of good finishes and I scored really well, but I think there is more in the tank.”
Saturday’s double-session saw eight second-round ties take place in Dortmund, with former champions Wright and James Wade joining the likes of Gerwyn Price and Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals.
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Speaking on Love The Darts, Luke Humphries says winning the World Grand Prix does not guarantee him a spot in the 2024 Premier League line-up
Wright continued his bid for a second European Championship crown with a thumping 10-4 victory against world champion Smith. Smith – a runner-up in Dortmund 12 months ago – was left shell-shocked as a merciless Wright punished his opponent’s doubling woes to storm into an 8-0 lead.
World No 1 Smith threatened an unlikely fightback with a run of four straight legs, although Wright regained his poise with legs of 14 and 13 darts to cap off a fine performance.
C Dobey (Eng) bt S Bunting (Eng) 10-8, D Noppert (Ned) bt R Cross (Eng) 10-7, G Price (Wal) bt N Aspinall (Eng) 10-5, P Wright (Sco) bt M Smith (Eng) 10-4, G van Veen (Ned) bt D Gurney (NIrl) 10-6, J Wade (Eng) bt J de Sousa (Por) 10-1, L Humphries (Eng) bt K Ratajski (Pol) 10-5, M van Gerwen (Ned) bt R Pietreczko (Ger) 10-7
“I didn’t feel comfortable at all,” revealed Wright, who recorded 107, 117 and 155 finishes in setting up a quarter-final clash against Chris Dobey. “Michael isn’t the world champion and world No 1 for nothing, but he didn’t bring his game at all, and I just did enough.”
Masters champion Dobey defied a late onslaught from Stephen Bunting to celebrate a dramatic 10-8 success, despite Bunting landing 11 maximums in defeat. Price, meanwhile, powered his way through to the last eight with a resounding 10-5 victory over Nathan Aspinall, winning the last five legs without reply to dump out the World Matchplay champion.
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Michael Bridge and Mark Webster give out their awards for the 2023 World Grand Prix
Danny Noppert also reeled off five straight legs to seal a 10-7 success against two-time European champion Rob Cross, as he moved through to a third consecutive European Championship quarter-final.
World Grand Prix champion Humphries maintained his bid for back-to-back televised titles by disposing of Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski and set up a meeting with Wade, who demolished an out-of-sorts Jose de Sousa 10-1 to secure a place in his first televised ranking quarter-final in over 18 months.
In the evening’s other tie, Dutch youngster Gian van Veen claimed a hard-fought 10-6 win over Daryl Gurney to set up a mouth-watering showdown against his compatriot Van Gerwen.
Sunday October 29
Afternoon Session
Quarter-Finals
Chris Dobey vs Peter Wright
Gerwyn Price vs Danny Noppert
Luke Humphries vs James Wade
Michael van Gerwen vs Gian van Veen
Watch the 17th staging of the Grand Slam of Darts from November 11-19 at the Aldersley Leisure Village. Stream your favourite sports and more with NOW.
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